A Typo Put Kids Face-Down on the Pavement: Ban Automated License Plate Cameras

I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the unvetted expansion of automated license plate readers (ALPRs)—specifically Flock Safety camera networks—across our state and local communities. While marketed as basic public safety tools, these AI-driven systems aggregate location data into a broad surveillance dragnet that threatens reasonable privacy expectations and Fourth Amendment rights. The primary danger of this technology lies in its error rate and law enforcement's reliance on unverified automated alerts. Field errors regularly cause systems to misread characters or confuse vehicle types. The human cost of these mistakes was demonstrated in Aurora, Colorado, where police relied on an ALPR match to stop Brittney Gilliam and her family. Officers forced young children to lie face-down on hot pavement at gunpoint because the camera system matched their SUV's plate to a stolen motorcycle with the same digits from another state. When automated systems make misread errors, innocent residents face high-risk armed detentions over simple algorithmic flaws. A computer hit does not constitute reasonable suspicion, nor does it justify subjecting families to traumatic police encounters. I urge you to reconsider the government's deployment of Flock Safety networks, enforce strict independent auditing, prohibit cross-jurisdictional data pooling, and mandate manual verification before any officer acts on an automated alert. Our constitutional protections and community safety must take priority over unchecked surveillance.